Apparatus for constructing a speaker enclosure

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to portable panels which, when mounted into a corner of a room in conjunction with the walls of the corner, substantially encloses a speaker that can be attached to one of the panels and provides the enclosure with a horn duct that makes possible a wide range of frequency response, especially in the lower range.

United States Patent [72] Inventor Fred C. Schneidewind [56] ReferencesCited 229 Beechmont, Dearborn, Mich. 48124 UNITED STATES PATENTS [21] P822365 2,955,669 10/1960 Rice 181/31 [22] M969 3 203 502 8/1965 Rife181/31 [45] Patented Jan'l2197l FOREIGN PATENTS 541,351 10/1955 Belgium181/31 Primary Examiner-Stephen J. Tomsky 54 APPARATUS FOR CONSTRUCTINGA SPEAKER Beck ENCLOSURE 6 Chums 3 Drawmg ABSTRACT: The inventionrelates to portable panels which, [52] US. Cl 181/31 when mounted into acorner of a room in conjunction with the [51] 610k 13/00, walls of thecorner, substantially encloses a speaker that can H04r 1/28 be attachedto one of the panels and provides the enclosure [50] Field of Search181/3 1.1, with a horn duct that makes possible a wide range offrequency response, especially in the lower range.

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A ORNEY APPARATUS FOR CONSTRUCTING A SPEAKER ENCLOSURE The enclosure ofthis invention comprises at least one but preferably two panels, bothbeing of similar trapezoidal configurations. One panel serves as thefront speaker panel that is positioned into the co ner making a slightangle with the vertical axis. The lower bottom edge of thistrapezoidal-shape panel rests on the floor of the room while theconverging lateral edges of the panel are placed in abutment with thevertical walls of the room to form an enclosure for a speaker that maybe mounted to the panel. The enclosure has an upper opening defined bythe shorter upper edge of the front speaker panel and the two wallsconverging at the ,corner. The second trapezoidal panel, also making aslight angle with the vertical axis but in the opposite direction, hasits narrower portion positioned through the upper opening into theenclosure until its diverging lateral edges abut the vertical walls andthe front surface of the second panel engages the upper edge of thefront speaker panel.

The invention is described and claimed in terms of the structure of thetwo panels which can be purchased disassembled; in. terms of the finalassembly when one or both panels are mounted in predetermined positionsinto a corner; and in terms of the sequential steps required forinstalling the two panels into a corner to effect the speaker enclosureof this invention.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a portable speakerenclosure which comprises, preferably, two separate panels; one servesas the front speaker panel that has a speaker opening to which a speakercan be mounted and the other panel is used as a horn duct upon beingproperly positioned with respect to the front speaker panel. Both panelscan be readily positioned in a predetermined relationship into a cornerto effect a speaker enclosure including a horn duct in conjunction withthe walls and floor defining the vertical corner of a room for instance.

In the prior art, speaker enclosures that fit into a corner of a roomand/or that couple with the walls of the corner have been depicted.

In U.S. Pat. No. 2,310,243, the speaker enclosure is a boxlike structurethat is positioned into a corner and is provided with openings definedby the side edges of the front panel and the vertical walls of thecorner to form horn portions for the speaker assembly. Baffles supportedby the speaker structure funnel the sound to the corner from which it isemitted through the side horn portions.

Similar but slightly simpler constructions are shown in US. Pats. Nos.2,731,101 and 2,994,399 in which the speaker enclosures are providedwith straight and curved sidewalls, respectively, which cooperate withthe walls of a corner of a room to provide horn sections for the speakerat each side of the enclosure.

A completely self-contained speaker enclosure is depicted in U.S. PatNo. 3,203,502 which has side and top horn sections formed by bafflespositioned in and supported by the enclosure.

A folder speaker enclosure described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,032,137 may besold as a knocked-down package but it comprises nine panels which, uponbeing assembled as described in the patent, does not couple the panelswith the walls to define the horn portions.

The present invention results in a much lower cost enclosure whichcomprises at least one, but preferably, two portable panels that can bereadily installed by any person following simple instructions withoutany special tools. The two panels are not permanently connected to eachother or even provided with special connecting devices whichdifferentiates from all the speaker enclosures known in the art.

The two panels of this invention can be installed into a corner of aroom in a predetermined relationship to define a speaker enclosurehaving a horn duct when placed in a cooperative relationship with thefloor and converging vertical walls of a comer. The two panels aremaintained in a fixed relationship to each other when positioned on thefloor and against the walls of the corner.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a simpleenclosure comprising at least one, but preferably, two separate, lowcost panels which are portable and can be readily installed in apredetermined relationship into a corner to form a speaker enclosurethat has the capability of producing sounds through the entire range ofaudible frequencies with good balance and fidelity. The installation canbe performed without any special skills and, therefore. the inventionresults in permitting enjoyment of a high-fidelity music system at a lowprice at any location at home or away from home, wherever a cornerexists or can be constructed and sound-system components are available.

One panel becomes the front speaker panel which is of a trapezoidalconfiguration having its bottom edge longer than the upper edge and thesecond panel, which also has a trapezoidal shape, serves as the hornduct portion if a horn duct is desirable.

The front speaker panel has a speaker opening to which a speaker ortransducer can be fitted. The front speaker panel is positioned into acorner of a room so as to extend diagonally across the corner and at aslight angle with the vertical plane. The bottom edge, which is longerthan the upper edge, rests on the floor and has its two ends or cornerstouching the walls. The diverging lateral edges of the front speakerpanel abut the vertical walls of the room. The front speaker panel, whenpositioned into the corner as described, forms an enclosure inconjunction with the fioor and vertical walls of the corner with theupper edge and the comer defining an opening into which the narrowerportion of the second panel is slipped at a slight angle with thevertical axis until its diverging lateral edges abut the vertical wallsand the front surface thereof engages the upper edge of the frontspeaker panel to form a horn duct for the speaker enclosure. The frontspeaker panel and the second panel are firmly supported by the floor andthe walls to establish a rigid structure.

Sound waves emanating from the rear ofthe speaker mounted in the speakeropening of the front speaker panel are transmitted through the horn ductportion formed by the second panel and the corner of the room.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is an exploded frontal view ofthe front speaker panel and the second panel shown in predeterminedpositions ready for assembly. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the twopanels 1 positioned in their predetermined relationship into a corner ofa room to provide the comer speaker enclosure of thepresent invention.FIG. 3 is a transverse sectional view taken substantially along line 3-3of FIG. 2.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT In FIG. 1 can be seen a frontspeaker panel 11 'which is of an isosceles trapezoidal configuration.The panel 11 has a horizontal bottom edge 12 and an upper edge 13 thatis generally extending parallel to and is shorter than the -bottom edge12. Lateral edges 14, 15 are converging as they extend in a generallyupward, vertical direction from bottom corners 16 speaker or transducer21 extends along an axis normal to the plane of the panel 11 as bestseen in FIG. 3.

A second panel 22, which is used as a horn duct portion only, is also ofan isosceles trapezoidal configuration similar to the front speakerpanel 11. The second panel 22 has two horizontally extending edges, andupper edge 23 and a bottom edge 24. As depicted in the exploded view ofFIG. 1 in which the second panel 22 is seen in a position ready forassembly, the bottom edge is shorter than the upper edge 23. Lateraledges 25, 26 of the second panel 22 are converging as they extend fromthe upper corners 27 in a generally downward, vertical direction to thelower corners 28 of the panel 22.

The front speaker panel 11 may be provided with a slipproof channel 29that slps over the bottom edge 12 as shown in FIG. 1. The channel 2) canbe manufactured from a plastic or rubber material. The front speakerpanel 1 1 and the second panel 22 can be manually assembled to fonn aspeaker enclosure 31 with a corner 32 of a room consisting of twoconverging vertical wall panels 33, 34 and a horizontal floor panel 35as best seen in FIGS. 2 and 3 or any three panels or boards assembled todefine a corner.

The front speaker panel 11 is placed into the corner 32 so as to make aslight angle with the vertical plane and leaning towards the corner asbest seen in FIG. 3. The bottom edge 12 rests on the floor panel 35 andextends diagonally across the corner 32 as seen in FIGS. 2 and 3. Eachof the bottom corners 16 touch the vertical wall panels 33, 34 and eachof the lateral edges 14, 15 abut along their entire lengths the surfacesof each of the converging vertical wall panels 33, 34. The enclosure 31formed by the front speaker panel 11 and the corner 32 of the room isclosed on all sides except at the top where an upper opening 36 resultsas defined by the upper edge 13 and the converging wall panels 33, 34.The speaker 21 attached to the periphery of the speaker opening 18 islocated inside the enclosure 31 as best seen in FIG. 3. A speaker cable37 connects the speaker 21 to an amplifier (not shown) remote from theenclosure 31. A simple speaker enclosure 31 is obtained using the frontspeaker panel 11 only, but to effect a horn duct for the enclosure 31 soas to improve the sound distribution, the second panel 22 is desirable.

The second panel 22 is inserted into the upper opening 36 so that thebottom edge 24 extends into the enclosure 31 and is located in rear ofthe speaker opening 18. The second panel 22 is inserted downwardlythrough the opening 36 while being angled towards the corner 32 untileach of the diverging lateral edges 25, 26 along their entire lengthsabut the surfaces of each of the converging vertical wall panels 33, 34and the front surface of the panel 22 engages the upper edge 13 of thefront speaker panel 11 as best seen in FIGS. 2 and 3.

The second panel 22, now wedged into the corner 32, forms an integralextension for the speaker enclosure 31. A small lower opening oraperture 38 is defined by the bottom edge 24 and the converging verticalwall panels 33, 34. The second panel 22 and the wall panels 33, 34 forma horn duct that progressively increases in cross-sectional area fromthe aperture 38 towards an upper discharging end 39 defined by the upperedge 23 of the second panel 22 and the converging vertical wall panels33, 34 as seen in FIG. 3.

It can be readily understood from the description of the preferredembodiment that a sturdy speaker enclosure 31 and horn duct therefor areobtained by the specific placement of the front speaker panel 11 and thesecond panel 22 into the corner 32 of the room.

The two panels 11, 22 can be readily separated by one per son by liftingthe second panel 22 from its supported position and then removing thefront speaker panel 11. Both panels 11, 22 are easily transferable toany new location or may be stored until required. For example, when aspecial performance is scheduled in any hall, the two portable panelscan be transported to the site and set up in a couple of minutes withoutany special tools and hooked up to an amplifier.

The panels 11, 22 in their assembled position as seen in FIGS. 2 and 3to effect the speaker enclosure with horn duct of this invention willprovide an effective sound distribution system. Sound emanates from therear of the speaker 21 and is reversed in phase by means of the smallopening or aperture 38. The sound is then coupled to the air through thehorn duct defined by the trapezoidal second panel 22 and the convergingvertical wall panels 33, 34. The horn duct, which substantiallyincreases in cross-sectional area from the a erture 38 to thedischarging end 39, creates a folded horn of arge proportions.

This separates the tonal voices of instrumental and vocal ensembles.Transient overtones are also effectively captured from percussiveinstruments such as harps, guitars, and drums by means of the longcolumn of air set in motion.

Additional speakers could be employed by providing more speaker openingsin the front speaker panel 11 or mounting tweeters coextensively withthe speaker 21. The speaker enclosure 31 is effectively enclosed by theabutment of the lateral edges 14, 15 and the bottom, edge 12 of thefront speaker panel 11 with the converging wall panels 33, 34 of thecomer and the floor panel 35 respectively. Thus, essentially, all soundis emitted from the front speaker opening 18 and horn duct only.

The invention disclosed will have many modifications which will beapparent to those skilled in the art in view of the teachings of thisspecification. It is intended that all modifications which fall withinthe true spirit and scope of this invention be included within the scopeof the appended claims.

Iclaim:

1. A portable speaker enclosure for installation into a corner definedby two walls and a floor, said enclosure comprising a speaker panel anda horn duct panel, said speaker panel having tapered sides and beingangularly positioned into said corner with the bottom edge thereofresting on said floor and the tapered sides thereof abutting said walls,said horn duct panel having its sides tapered at an angular relationshipto each other so that, upon being slid downwardly while being maintainedin engagement with the upper edge of said speaker panel, said horn ductpanel fits snugly into the corner with the tapered sides thereofabutting the walls to define, together with said speaker panel, aunitary speaker enclosure.

2. A portable speaker enclosure with a horn duct portion forinstallation into a corner defined by two vertical wall panels and ahorizontal floor panel, said enclosure comprising a speaker panel with aspeaker opening and a horn duct panel, said speaker panel having taperedsides and one horizontally extending edge longer than the otherhorizontally extending edge, said speaker panel being angularlypositioned into said corner so that said tapered sides are in abutmentwith the wall panels and said longer horizontally extending edge isresting on said floor panel thereby'defining an upper opening betweensaid wall panels and said other shorter horizontally extending edge,said horn duct panel having tapered sides at an angular relationship toeach other so that, upon being slid downwardly at an angle into saidupper opening whilebeing maintained in engagement with said othershorter, horizontally extending edge of said speaker panel, said hornduct panel fits snugly into said corner with the tapered sides alongtheir entire lengths in abutment with the vertical wall panels todefine, together with said speaker panel, a unitary speaker enclosurehaving a horn duct at the upper side and closed off on the other threesides.

3. The speaker enclosure of claim 2 and which is further characterizedin that a speaker is mounted in said speaker opening of said speakerpanel so as to be positioned within said enclosure.

4. The speaker enclosure of claim 2 and which is further characterizedin that said speaker panel and said horn duct panel are of an isoscelestrapezoidal configuration.

5. The speaker enclosure of claim 3 and which is further characterizedin that the lower portion of said horn duct panel terminates behind saidspeaker to define an' aperture between the bottom edge of said horn ductpanel and said wall panels to provide for a reversal in phase for thesound emanating from the rear of said speaker.

6. The portable speaker enclosure of claim 2 and which is furthercharacterized in that a slipproof means is attached to said one longerhorizontally extending edge of said speaker panel.

1. A portable speaker enclosure for installation into a corner definedby two walls and a floor, said enclosure comprising a speaker panel anda horn duct panel, said speaker panel having tapered sides and beingangularly positioned into said corner with the bottom edge thereofresting on said floor and the tapered sides thereof abutting said walls,said horn duct panel having its sides tapered at an angular relationshipto each other so that, upon being slid downwardly while being maintainedin engagement with the upper edge of said speaker panel, said horn ductpanel fits snugly into the corner with the tapered sides thereofabutting the walls to define, together with said speaker panel, aunitary speaker enclosure.
 2. A portable speaker enclosure with a hornduct portion for installation into a corner defined by two vertical wallpanels and a horizontal floor panel, said enclosure comprising a speakerpanel with a speaker opening and a horn duct panel, said speaker panelhaving tapered sides and one horizontally extending edge longer than theother horizontally extending edge, said speaker panel being angularlypositioned into said corner so that said tapered sides are in abutmentwith the wall panels and said longer horizontally extending edge isresting on said floor panel thereby defining an upper opening betweensaid wall panels and said other shorter horizontally extending edge,said horn duct panel having tapered sides at an angular relationship toeach other so that, upon being slid downwardly at an angle into saidupper opening while being maintained in engagement with said othershorter, horizontally extending edge of said speaker panel, said hornduct panel fits snugly into said corner with the tapered sides alongtheir entire lengths in abutment with the vertical wall panels todefine, together with said speaker panel, a unitary speAker enclosurehaving a horn duct at the upper side and closed off on the other threesides.
 3. The speaker enclosure of claim 2 and which is furthercharacterized in that a speaker is mounted in said speaker opening ofsaid speaker panel so as to be positioned within said enclosure.
 4. Thespeaker enclosure of claim 2 and which is further characterized in thatsaid speaker panel and said horn duct panel are of an isoscelestrapezoidal configuration.
 5. The speaker enclosure of claim 3 and whichis further characterized in that the lower portion of said horn ductpanel terminates behind said speaker to define an aperture between thebottom edge of said horn duct panel and said wall panels to provide fora reversal in phase for the sound emanating from the rear of saidspeaker.
 6. The portable speaker enclosure of claim 2 and which isfurther characterized in that a slipproof means is attached to said onelonger horizontally extending edge of said speaker panel.